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Josephus (c.37 – 100, also known as Yosef ben Matityahu, Hebrew יוסף בן מתתיהו, Joseph son of Matthias) was a renowned 1st-century Jewish historian. Despite being a Roman apologist, his writings are seen as providing an important historical and cultural background for the era described in the New Testament. Books 18 to 20 of the Antiquities of the Jews are the most important in this regard. Josephus was fluent in Aramaic, Hebrew and Greek.

His writings are considered important secular historical documents that could, if genuine, shed light on the origins of Christianity. Josephus' Antiquities of the Jews, written around 93–94 AD, includes two references to Jesus in Books 18 and 20 and a reference to John the Baptist in Book 18. Scholars are divided over the references, for example L. Michael White has noted that "the parallel sections of Josephus's The Jewish War make no mention of Jesus" with Louis Feldman making the same observation. A small number of critics believe the references involving James and John the Baptist passages could have been later Christian interpolations but the "overwhelming majority" of scholars consider they could be authentic. The discovery of a Russian version of The Jewish War during the beginning of the twentieth century, commonly called the "Slavonic Josephus" or Testimonium Slavianum, is cited as proof that the works of Josephus contained Christian interpolations. The general scholarly view of the present day is that while the Testimonium Flavianum is most likely not authentic in its entirety, it originally consisted of an authentic nucleus with a reference to the execution of Jesus by Pilate which was then subject to interpolation. Both Christian and Jewish scholars who propose this theory believe the Testimonium originally existed in a different form before being interpolated later by Christians, and restore what they believe was the original version of the passage, with the references to the miraculous material omitted. Each scholar presents his own differing restored version of the Testimonium. These scholars include John P. Meier, Shlomo Pines, Géza Vermes, Paul Winter, James H. Charlesworth, F. F. Bruce, Frederick Fyvie Bruce, Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament, page 39 (Eerdmans, 1974) and Claudia Setzer.

Manuscripts

None of the extant manuscripts of Josephus date from the early Christian period, and the first to witness any of the passages relating to Jesus was Eusebius of Caesarea, writing in about 324. The works of Josephus were translated into Latin during the fourth century (possibly by Rufinus), and during the same century the Jewish War was "partially rewritten as an anti-Jewish treatise, known today as Pseudo-Hegesippus, but was considered for over a millenium and a half by many Christians as the ipsissima verba of Josephus to his own people." Variations in the Josephus manuscripts lasted for centuries - known to Andrew of Crete, John of Damascus and the lexicographer, Suidas (flourished circa 1000 AD). During the seventeenth century it was "alleged that Thomas Gale of Cambridge had large Greek fragments of Josephus not in the textus receptus: we do not know what became of them, and we are left to wonder whether their suppression was not deliberate."

The earliest surviving Greek manuscript by Josephus is the Ambrosianus 370 (F 128), dating from the eleventh century, preserved in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan.

James the brother of Jesus

In The Antiquities of the Jews, Book XX, Chapter 9 of the Antiquities Josephus refers to the death of "the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James".

And now Caesar, upon hearing the death of Festus, sent Albinus into Judea, as procurator. But the king deprived Joseph of the high priesthood, and bestowed the succession to that dignity on the son of Ananus, who was also himself called Ananus... Festus was now dead, and Albinus was but upon the road; so he assembled the sanhedrin of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others; and when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned.

In the Antiquities of the Jews (Book 20, Chapter 9, 1) Josephus refers to the stoning of "James the brother of Jesus" by order of Ananus ben Ananus, a Herodian-era High Priest who died c. 68 AD. The James referred to in this passage is thought to be the James the first bishop of Jerusalem who is also called James the Just in Christian literature, and to whom the Epistle of James has possibly been attributed. The majority of today's scholars consider both the reference to "the brother of Jesus called Christ" and the entire passage that includes it as having the highest level of authenticity. Sc the highest level of authenticity among the references of Josephus to Christianity. The translations of Josephus' writing into other languages have at times included passages that are not found in the Greek texts, raising the possibility of interpolation, but this passage on James is found in all manuscripts, including the Greek texts.

The word "Christ" is only found twice in the entire works of Josephus, both times in the alleged references to Jesus Christ found in Antiquities.

James Carleton Paget has noted the passage about the death of James in Josephus "contrasts strongly with known Christian accounts of his death found for instance in Hegesippus, the Ascents of James, Clement of Alexandria's Hypotyposeis, and the Second Apocalypse of James."

According to Robert E. Van Voorst the overwhelming majority of today's scholars consider both the reference to "the brother of Jesus called Christ" and the entire passage that includes it as possibly authentic. Richard Bauckham states that although a few scholars have questioned this passage, "the vast majority have considered it to be authentic". Louis Feldman states that the possible authenticity of this Josephus passage has been "almost universally acknowledged". Paul L. Maier states that most scholars agree with Feldman's assessment that "few have doubted the genuineness of this passage".

The context of this passage is the period after the death of Porcius Festus and the journey to Alexandria by Lucceius Albinus the new Roman Procurator of Judea, who held that position from 62 AD to 64 AD. Because the journey of Albinus to Alexandria concluded at the latest in the summer of 62 AD, the date of the death of James can be assigned with some certainty to around that year. The death of James is also recorded by the 2nd century chronicler Hegesippus whose details diverge from those of Josephus, although the two accounts share similar elements. Modern scholarship generally considers the description of the death of James given in Josephus to be possibly the most historically reliable account.

However, the above passage about Ananus from the Antiquities is directly contradicted by the equivalent account by Josephus of the character of Ananus as given in the Jewish Wars, that does not mention the martyrdom of James and cites the death of Ananus as the reason for the beginning of the destruction of Jerusalem. From the surviving fragments of the Jewish Wars: "I should not be wrong in saying, that with the death of Ananus began the capture of the city, and from that very day on which the Jews beheld their high priest and the guardians of their safety, murdered in the midst of Jerusalem, its bulwarks were laid low, and the Jewish state overthrown."

Since the 19th century, a small number of authors have questioned the authenticity of this Josephus passage, generally in the context of the denial of the existence of Jesus, the inaccuracy of the Christian gospels, or that in The Jewish War Josephus does not mention this incident. Going back to Isaac Mayer Wise in the 19th century these authors have included John Remsburg and Arthur Drews and their views culminated in the writings of George Albert Wells who in 1986 argued that the passage was interpolated by Christian authors within the context that Jesus never existed. However, this has been an ongoing debate and towards the end of the 20th century Wells changed his views and accepted the possible existence of Jesus, although still disputing Christian sources.

Claudia Setzer has noted that "what is striking is that Ananus accuses James of transgressing the Torah, but in the New Testament James appears as an advocate of loyalty to the Torah (Gal. 2:12, Acts 21:20-24)."

Scholars who have doubted the authenticity of the passage about James in Josephus include Tessa Rajak (1983) and Ken Olson (1999).

Carl Clemen commented on the unreliabilty of the passage about James: "especially because Origen, who three times mentions Josephus' account of the death of James, read it differently". G. A. Wells has also commented: "That there has been some tampering with that passage is suggested by the fact that Origen, who refers to Josephus's account of the death of James, claims to have read something rather different on that subject in his text of Josephus from what now stands there."

John the Baptist

Now some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod's army came from God, and that very justly, as a punishment of what he did against John, that was called the Baptist: for Herod slew him, who was a good man... Herod, who feared lest the great influence John had over the people might put it into his power and inclination to raise a rebellion... Accordingly he was sent a prisoner, out of Herod's suspicious temper, to Macherus, the castle I before mentioned, and was there put to death.

In the Antiquities of the Jews (Book 18, Chapter 5, 2) Josephus refers to the imprisonment (and death) of John the Baptist by order of Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee and Perea. The context of this reference is the 36 AD defeat of Herod Antipas in his conflict with Aretas IV of Nabatea, which the Jews of the time attributed to misfortune brought about by Herod's unjust execution of John. Almost all modern scholars strongly consider this Josephus passage about John to be possibly authentic in its entirety. Given that the death of John also appears in the Christian gospels, this passage is considered an important connection between the events Josephus recorded, the chronology of the gospels and the dates for the Ministry of Jesus.

If authentic, the passage represents the only corroboration of his life outside of early Christian literature. Clare K. Rothschild has noted that "Today we have only three Greek manuscripts of this portion of the Antiquities, the earliest of which dates to the eleventh century" and "absence of Christian tampering does not constitute positive proof of authenticity", also observing "arguments both for and against authenticity of the passage have advantages and flaws of equal weight making a clear decision either way impossible."

Although a small number of authors have questioned this reference, almost all modern scholars consider this Josephus passage about John to be possibly authentic in its entirety. Given that the death of John also appears in the Christian gospels, this passage is considered an important connection between the events Josephus recorded, the chronology of the gospels and the dates for the Ministry of Jesus.

While both the gospels and Josephus refer to Herod Antipas killing John the Baptist, they differ on the details and the motive. While the gospels present this as a consequence of the marriage of Herod Antipas and Herodias in defiance of Jewish law (as in Matthew 14:4, Mark 6:18) Josephus refers to it as a pre-emptive measure by Herod to quell a possible uprising. However, this difference between the motive presented in the gospels and the one stated by Josephus is one of several criteria scholars list in favor of the possible authenticity of the Josephus passage, given that Christian interpolators would have most probably made it consistent with the gospels. Feldman also states that Christian interpolators would have been very unlikely to have devoted almost twice as much space to John (163 words) as to Jesus (89 words).

While Josephus identifies the location of the imprisonment of John as Machaerus, southeast of the mouth of the Jordan river, the gospels mention no location for the place where John was imprisoned. However, according to other historical accounts Machaerus was rebuilt by Herod the Great around 30 AD and then passed to Herod Antipas. The 36 AD date of the conflict with Aretas IV mentioned by Josephus is, however, consistent (and shortly after) the approximate date of the marriage of Herod Antipas and Herodias estimated by other historical methods.

The differences between the two accounts of John the Baptist found in Josephus and the New Testament have been noted by Claudia Setzer. In Mark it is the daughter of Herodias who instigates the execution of John the Baptist; while John the Baptist in the New Testament preaches a "baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins" (Mark 1:4), Josephus describes he rejected that interpretation ("For immersion in water, it was clear to him, could not be used for the forgiveness of sins"); and Josephus wrote he was "executed out of fear that he may be a revolutionary, a motif that is absent from the New Testament."

Testimonium Flavianum

Book 18 of Josephus' Antiquities of the Jews contains the following disputed passage about Jesus Christ:

Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.

Paul L. Maier, former Professor of Ancient History at Western Michigan University stated scholars fall into three main camps over its authenticity: 1) It is entirely authentic, 2) It is entirely a Christian forgery and 3) It contains Christian interpolations in what was Josephus's authentic material about Jesus.

In Book 18, Chapter 3, 3 of the Antiquities Josephus refers to the execution of Jesus by Pontius Pilate. This passage is generally called the Testimonium Flavianum. It is the most discussed passage in all of Josephus' writings and perhaps in all ancient literature. Scholars have differing views on the authenticity of the Testimonium. The general scholarly view is that while the Testimonium Flavianum is most likely not authentic in its entirety, it originally consisted of an authentic nucleus with a reference to the execution of Jesus by Pilate which was then subject to interpolation. However, Robert E. Van Voorst has cautiously stated that "nothing is certain" (see below). A number of scholars suggest a relationship between the Testimonium and the reference to James the brother of Jesus, viewing the Testimonium as the initial reference to Jesus, which is then referred to again in the passage on James in Book 20.

The Testimonium Flavianumin appears in the Greek version of the Antiquities of the Jews (Book 18, Chapter 3, 3) and refers to Jesus. According to Josephus scholar Louis Feldman, the Testimonium is the most discussed passage in Josephus and perhaps in all ancient literature.

The first person to cite this passage of the Antiquities was Eusebius of Caesarea, writing in about 324. In his Demonstratio Evangelica, he quotes the passage in essentially the same form (he has πολλους των Ιουδαιων instead of πολλους Ιουδαιους, and inserts απο before του Ελληνικου).

As is common with ancient texts, The Antiquities of the Jews survives only in medieval copies. The manuscripts, the oldest of which dates from the 11th century, are all Greek minuscules, and all have been copied by Christian monks. Jews did not preserve the writings of Josephus because they considered him to be a traitor. The text of Antiquities appears to have been transmitted in two halves i.e. (books 1–10 and books 11–20). Other ad hoc copies of the Testimonium also survive, as a quotation in the works of Christian writers.

An ancient Table of Contents of the eighteenth book of the Antiquities omits any reference to the passage about Jesus, as does the Josephus codex of the patriarch Photius. Nor did the Testimonium exist in the Josephus codex used by the Church Father Origen.

Michael J. Cook described the content of the Testimonium as "so adulatory and consistent with what we would expect of a Christian assessment that most scholars dismiss it as a reworking, even an outright forgery, by a later Christian hand (it was the church, not the rabbis, who preserved Josephus' writings)."

Scholars have differing views on the authenticity of the Testimonium. The general scholarly view is that while the Testimonium Flavianum is most likely not authentic in its entirety, it originally possibly consisted of an authentic nucleus with a reference to the execution of Jesus by Pilate which was then subject to interpolation. Although New Testament scholar Robert Van Voorst favours this explanation, he remarks that nothing is certain, and mentions that "other scholars deny the authenticity of the entire passage. Their argument is based on the context of the passage in the Antiquities, the arguably Christian wording of the passage, and Josephus's belief that the Roman general Vespasian was the messiah (Jewish War 6.6.4: 310-13; cf. 3.8.9: 392-408)." In another work about the Testimonium, Van Voorst adds: "Because the few manuscripts of Josephus come from the eleventh century, long after Christian interpolations would have been made, textual criticism cannot help to solve this issue." Despite this, Van Voorst concludes that Josephus was a "unique and carefully neutral, highly accurate and perhaps independent witness to Jesus."

A number of scholars suggest a relationship between the Testimonium and the reference to Jesus in Antiquities of the Jews Book 20, Chapter 9, 1 where Josephus refers to the stoning of "James the brother of Jesus". Louis Feldman views the reference to Jesus in the death of James passage as "the aforementioned Christ", thus relating that passage to the Testimonium, which he views as the first reference to Jesus in the works on Josephus. Paul L. Maier concurs with the analysis of Feldman and states that Josephus' first reference was the Testimonium. Geza Vermes also considers the reference to James as the second reference and states that the first reference is likely to be the Testimonium. Vermes has reconstructed what he considers to be the authentic nucleus of the Testimonium which contains a reference to the cross and one to the early Christians.

Andreas J. Köstenberger states that although some portions of the Testimonium are most likely interpolations, there is strong evidence that some elements of it are authentic. Thomas Yoder Neufeld states that most scholars today consider the core of the Testimonium reference to have been written by Josphus, then subjected to later extensions. Darrell Bock supports the view that most scholars consider the core of the passage to be authentic. Gerd Theissen states that the kernel of the Testimoniun was likely written by Josephus but was extended later. Claudia Setzer states that she agrees with Louis Feldman's view that the core of the Testimonium was written by Josephus, then extended. Paul D. Wegner also states that a case can be made that the kernel of the Testimonium was written by Josephus.

Scholars who do not regard the passage as authentic include Emil Schürer, Robert Eisler and S. G. F. Brandon. Steven Bowman stated that "Eusebius, the polymath Arian biographer of Constantine is considered the likely candidate for this pious fraud."

J. Neville Birdsall in 1984 argued that the whole of the Testimonium Flavianum was a Christian interpolation in The Manson Memorial Lecture, on the grounds of linguistics.

Slavonic Josephus

The three references found in Book 18 and Book 20 of the Antiquities do not appear in any other versions of Josephus' The Jewish War except for a Slavonic version of the Testimonium Flavomium (at times called Testimonium Slavonium) which surfaced in the west at the beginning of the 20th century, after its discovery in Russia at the end of the 19th century.

The existence of the documents that led to the discovery of the Slavonic Josephus was first brought to light by A. N. Popov in Russia in 1866. In 1879 I. Sreznevski pointed out that the language used was not Bulgarian or Serbian, but comparable to the Russian chronicles. At about the same time as Sreznevski, the subject was also studied by E. Barsov and by the end of the 19th century knowledge of the existence of the documents was established in the west via its listing by Niese and Destinon in 1894. The Estonian scholar Alexandeer Berendts published a German translation in 1906 and proposed the theory that the Slavonic version had been derived from the original Aramaic of Josephus. However, Paul L. Maier states that the Slavonic Josephus "includes so many sensationalized accretions" that most modern scholars consider it as a highly colored translation and paraphrase, and do not consider it to be true to the original Aramaic.

The Slavonic Josephus was defended in 1926 as authentic by Robert Eisler and was later supported by George Williamson. Robert Van Voorst states that apart from Eisler's controversial book and Williamson statements, "no strong defense has been made" for the authenticity of the Slavonic Josephus. Henry Leeming states that Eisler at times used insufficiently substantiated material which were then discredited. Leeming adds that Eisler's philological attempts to reverse translate from Old Russian to Greek were shown to be "extremely flimsy". Van Voorst states that the contents of the passages in the Slavonic Josephus show that "they are Christian compositions and that they do not provide an authentic textual alternative to the main Testomonium Flavianum".

Steven B. Bowman states that the consideration of the Slavonic Josephus should be removed from the scholarly discussions of the first century, for it only pertains to the Macedonian elements of the 10th and 11th centuries. The Cambridge History of Judaism states that the Slavonic version includes statements which Josephus could have hardly written, and that recent scholarly opinion dismisses the Slavonic Josephus as less than authentic, but an 11th century creation as an idealogical struggle against the Khazars. Van Voorst states that the Slavonic Josephus at times focuses on blaming Pilate and the Jews, to the point of suggesting that the Jews and not the Romans crucified Jesus.

Louis Feldman states the question "is Josephus the author of the additions and modifications in the Slavonic version" has usually received a negative answer. Craig A Evans states that although some scholars had in the past supported the Slavonic Josephus, "to my knowledge no one today believes that they contain anything of value for Jesus research".

G. A. Wells has argued that the existence of Christian interpolations within the Slavonic version of the Jewish War prove that other works of Josephus also contain Christian interpolations. In 1948 Solomon Zeitlin stated that "There is no passage in Josephus which mentions Jesus" and "The Slavonic Josephus which is a paraphrase of Josephus's Wars of the Jews, was composed for the purpose of giving a Christian version of Josephus in Greek. Hence we find in it many Christian interpolations."

See also

• Christianity in the 1st century
• Early Christianity
• Historicity of Jesus
• Roman Judea

References

1. Louis Feldman, Steve Mason (1999). Flavius Josephus. Brill Academic Publishers.
2. ^ Josephus, Judaism and Christianity by Louis H. Feldman, Gōhei Hata 1997 ISBN 9004085548 pages 55-57 Cite error: The named reference "FeldHata55" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
3. ^ Josephus: The Essential Works by Flavius Josephus and Paul L. Maier 1995 ISBN 082543260X page 285
4. Josephus: The Essential Works by Flavius Josephus and Paul L. Maier 1995 ISBN 082543260X page 12
5. L. Michael White, From Jesus To Christianity, page 97 (HarperOne, 2005). ISBN 978-0-06-081610-0
6. Louis H. Feldman, Gōhei Hata, Josephus, The Bible, and History, page 431 (E. J. Brill, Leiden, 1988). ISBN 90-04-08931-4. Quote: "We may add that the fact that in the passage in the War parallel to the one in the Antiquities about Pilate there is no mention of Jesus, despite the fact the account of Pilate in the War is almost as full as the version in the Antiquities, corroborates our suspicion that there was either no passage about Jesus in the original text of the Antiquities or that it had a different form."
7. ^ Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence by Robert E. Van Voorst 2000 ISBN 0802843689 page 83
8. ^ Richard Bauckham "FOR WHAT OFFENSE WAS JAMES PUT TO DEATH?" in James the Just and Christian origins by Bruce Chilton, Craig A. Evans 1999 ISBN 9004115501 pages 199-203
9. ^ Craig Evans, 2006 "Josephus on John the Baptist" in The Historical Jesus in Context edited by Amy-Jill Levine et al. Princeton Univ Press ISBN 9780691009926 pages 55-58
10. ^ Robert E. Van Voorst, Jesus Outside The New Testament: An Introduction To The Ancient Evidence, page 85 (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2000). ISBN 0-8028-4368-9
11. ^ G. A. Wells, The Jesus of the early Christians, page 192 (Pemberton Books, 1971). ISBN 0301-71014-7
12. Charles H. H. Scobie, John the Baptist (SCM Press, 1964), reviewed in Journal of Biblical Literature by Charles E. Carlston (Volume 84, Number 2, June 1965, pages 208-209).
13. ^ Jewish Traditions in Early Christian Literature (Vol 2) by H. Schreckenberg and K. Schubert 1992 ISBN 9023226534 pages 38-41
14. ^ The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament by Andreas J. Kostenberger, L. Scott Kellum and Charles L Quarles 2009 ISBN 0805443657 pages 104-108
15. ^ Jesus and His Contemporaries: Comparative Studies by Craig A. Evans 2001 ISBN 0391041185 page 316
16. ^ Jesus and the oral Gospel tradition by Henry Wansbrough 2004 ISBN 0567040909 page 185
17. John P. Meier, A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus, Volume 1, page 61 (Yale University Press, 2009). ISBN 978-0300140965
18. Shlomo Pines, An Arabic version of the Testimonium Flavianum and its implications, pages 8-10, 16 (Jerusalem: Israel Academy of Arts and Humanities, 1971).
19. Geza Vermes, "The Jesus Notice of Josephus Re-examined", in Journal of Jewish Studies (volume 38, issue 1, 1987).
20. Paul Winter, "Josephus on Jesus and James", in Emil Schürer, The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ (175 B.C.- A.D. 135), edited by Geza Vermes and Fergus Millar (Edinburgh: Clark, 1973; Excursus II, p. 437)
21. James H. Charlesworth, Jesus within Judaism: New Light From Exciting Archaeological Discoveries (Doubleday, 1988)
22. Claudia Setzer, Jewish Responses to Early Christians: history and Polemics, 30-150 C.E., pages 106–107 (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1994). ISBN 978-0800626808
23. Steven Bowman, "Jewish Responses to Byzantine Polemics from the Ninth through the Eleventh Centuries" , in Zev Garber (editor), The Jewish Jesus: Revelation, Reflection, Reclamation, pages 186-187 (Purdue University Press, 2011). ISBN 978-1-55753-579-5
24. J. Spencer Kennard, Jr., "Gleanings from the Slavonic Josephus Controversy", The Jewish Quarterly Review, (New Series, Volume 39, number 2, October 1948), page 164; with Kennard citing the article "Jean-Baptiste et Jésus suivant Josèphe" by Salomon Reinach referencing Thomas Gale in Revue des Études Juives, volume LXXXVII, n° 174 (avril-juin 1929); pages 113-136 . Reprinted in Amalthée: Mélanges d’Archéologie et d’Histoire, Tome II (Paris: Libraire Ernest Leroux. 1930-1931), pages 314-342.
25. Steve Mason (editor), Flavius Josephus: Translation and Commentary, Volume 9, Life of Josephus, Translation and Commentary by Steve Mason, page LI, (Brill, Leiden; 2001). ISBN 90-04-11793-8
26. Josephus: all the Manuscripts
27. ^ Early Christian Life and Thought in Social Context by Mark Harding 2003 Sheffield Academic Press ISBN 0826456049 page 317
28. ^ Just James: The Brother of Jesus in History and Tradition by John Painter 2005 ISBN 0567041913 pages 134-141
29. Josephus: The Antiquities of the Jews Book 20, Chapter 9, 1 Text at Wikisource
30. Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible 2000 ISBN 9053565035 page 670
31. A History of the Holy Eastern Church by John Mason Neale 2003 ISBN 1593330456 pages 2-3
32. James Carleton Paget, Jews, Christians and Jewish Christians in Antiquity, page 192 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2010). ISBN 978-3-16-150312-2
33. ^ The Cambridge History of Christianity, Volume 1: Origins to Constantine by Margaret M. Mitchell and Frances M. Young 2006 ISBN 0521812399 page 297
34. ^ John Painter: "Who was james?" in The brother of Jesus: James the Just and his mission by Bruce Chilton, Jacob Neusner 2004 ISBN 0814651526 pages 126
35. The Jewish War of Flavius Josephus: A New Translation Book IV. (Boston: John P. Jewett and Company, 1858). Available from Google Books
36. Clemens Thoma, "The High Priesthood in the Judgment of Josephus", in Louis H. Feldman, Gōhei Hata (editors), Josephus, The Bible, And History, pages 212-213 (E. J. Brill, Leiden; 1988). ISBN 90-04-08931-4
37. ^ The Historical Jesus by Gary R. Habermas 1996 ISBN 0899007325 pages 33-37
38. ^ Jesus in history, thought, and culture: an encyclopedia, Volume 1 by James Leslie Houlden 2003 ISBN 1576078566 page 660
39. George Albert Wells, Did Jesus Exist?, (1986) Pemberton Publishing Co., p. 11
40. James D.G. Dunn, 1985 The Evidence for Jesus ISBN 0664246982 page 29
41. Familiar stranger: an introduction to Jesus of Nazareth by Michael James McClymond 2004 ISBN 0802826806 page 163
42. G.A. Wells, The Jesus Myth, Open Court 1999, ISBN 0812693922
43. Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence by Robert E. Van Voorst 2000 ISBN 0802843689 page 14
44. Claudia Setzer, "Jewish Responses to Believers in Jesus", in Amy-Jill Levine, Marc Z. Brettler (editors), The Jewish Annotated New Testament, page 577 (New Revised Standard Version, Oxford University Press, 2011). ISBN 978-0195297706
45. James Carleton Paget, Jews, Christians and Jewish Christians in Antiquity, page 192, footnote 28 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2010). ISBN 978-3-16-150312-2
46. Carl Clemen, "Josephus and Christianity", page 366. The Biblical World, Volume 25, Number 5 (May, 1905).
47. G. A. Wells, The Jesus Legend, page 54 (Carus Publishing Company, 1997). ISBN 0-8126-9334-5
48. Josephus: Antiquities of the Jews Book 18, 5, 2 Text at Wikisource
49. ^ International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: E-J by Geoffrey W. Bromiley 1982 ISBN 0802837824 pages 694-695
50. ^ The Emergence of Christianity: Classical Traditions in Contemporary Perspective by Cynthia White 2010 ISBN 0800697472 page 48
51. The relationship between John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth by Daniel S. Dapaah 2005 ISBN 0761831096 page 48
52. Herod Antipas by Harold W. Hoehner 1983 ISBN 0310422515 pages 125-127
53. ^ Louis H. Feldman, "Josephus" Anchor Bible Dictionary, Vol. 3, pp. 990-1.
54. Clare K. Rothschild, "Echo of a Whisper": The Uncertain Authenticity of Josephus' Witness to John the Baptist, in David Hellholm, Tor Vegge, A~yvind Norderval, Christer Hellholm (editors), Ablution, Initiation, and Baptism: Late Antiquity, Early Judaism, and Early Christianity, pages 257 and 258 (Walter de Gruyter, 2011). ISBN 978-3-11-024751-0
55. For example, Léon Herrmann, Chrestos, Témoignages païens et juifs sur le christianisme: du premier siècle, (Bruxelles, Latomus, 1970).
56. The new complete works of Josephus by Flavius Josephus, William Whiston, Paul L. Maier ISBN 0825429242 pages 662-663
57. Jesus in history, thought, and culture: an encyclopedia, Volume 1 by James Leslie Houlden 2003 ISBN 1576078566 pages 508-509
58. Women in scripture by by Carol Meyers, Toni Craven and Ross Shepard Kraemer 2001 ISBN 0802849628 pages 92-93
59. Herod Antipas in Galilee: The Literary and Archaeological Sources by Morten H. Jensen 2010 ISBN 978-3-16-150362-7 pages 42-43
60. ^ Judaism and Hellenism reconsidered by Louis H. Feldman 2006 ISBN 9004149066 pages 330-331
61. ^ Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible 2000 ISBN 9053565035 page 842
62. ^ Herodias: at home in that fox's den by Florence Morgan Gillman 2003 ISBN 0814651089 pages 25-31
63. Herod the Great by Jerry Knoblet 2005 ISBN 0761830871 pages 15-17
64. Herod Antipas by Harold W. Hoehner 1983 ISBN 0310422515 page 131]
65. Claudia Setzer, "Jewish Responses to Believers in Jesus", in Amy-Jill Levine, Marc Z. Brettler (editors), The Jewish Annotated New Testament, page 576 (New Revised Standard Version, Oxford University Press, 2011). ISBN 978-0195297706
66. Josephus: Antiquities of the Jews, Book 18, Chapter 3, 3 Text at Wikisource
67. Paul L. Maier, The New Complete Works of Josephus, page 662 (Kregel Publications, 1999). ISBN 0-8254-2924-2
68. Paul L. Maier, Eusebius: The Church History, page 336 (Kregel Publications, 2007). ISBN 978-0-8254-3307-8
69. James Leslie Houlden, Jesus in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia. Entries A - J, Volume 1, page 510 (ABC-CLIO, Inc., 2003). ISBN 1-57607-856-6
70. ^ Jesus in the Jewish World by Geza Vermes 2011 ISBN 0334043794 pages 33-44
71. William Whiston, The New Complete Works of Josephus, Kregel Academic, 1999. p 662
72. McGiffert, Arthur Cushman. "Paragraph 7 of "Chapter XI.—Testimonies in Regard to John the Baptist and Christ" from Book I of Eusebius' "The Church History."". Retrieved 2007-08-12. (From the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series II, Vol. 1, edited by Philip Schaff.)
73. Feldman (1989), p. 431
74. Heinz Schreckenberg, Kurt Schubert, Jewish Historiography and Iconography in Early and Medieval Christianity, page 58 (Assen: Van Gorcum, 1992). ISBN 90-232-2653-4
75. Heinz Schreckenberg, Kurt Schubert, page 57.
76. Michael J. Cook, "Jewish Perspectives on Jesus", in Delbert Burkett (editor), The Blackwell Companion to Jesus, page 216 (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010). ISBN 978-1-4051-9362-7
77. Edwin M. Yamauchi, Jesus Outside the New Testament: What is the Evidence? p. 212.
78. James Leslie Houlden, Jesus in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia. Entries A - J, Volume 1, page 510 (ABC-CLIO, Inc., 2003). ISBN 1-57607-856-6
79. Robert E. Van Voorst, Jesus Outside The New Testament: An Introduction To The Ancient Evidence, pages 88; 104 (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2000). ISBN 0-8026-4368-9
80. The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament by Andreas J. Köstenberger, L. Scott Kellum 2009 ISBN 9780805443653 pages 105-107
81. Recovering Jesus by Thomas Yoder Neufeld 2007 ISBN 1587432021 page 40
82. Studying the historical Jesus: a guide to sources and methods by Darrell L. Bock 2002 ISBN 080102451X page 55
83. The quest for the plausible Jesus: the question of criteria by Gerd Theissen, Dagmar Winter 2002 ISBN 0664225373 page 14
84. Jewish responses to early Christians by Claudia Setzer 1994 ISBN 080062680X page 106
85. Claudia Setzer "Jewish Responses to believers in Jesus" in The Jewish Annotated New Testament by Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Z. Brettler 2011 ISBN 0195297709 page 579
86. Journey from Texts to Translations by Paul D. Wegner 2004 ISBN 0801027993 page 133
87. On the Testimonium Flavianum S. G. F. Brandon commented: "if it had been written by Josephus, must surely mean that he himself was a Christian or at least admitted to the truth of the Christian case. There is reason for thinking however, that this account was either a Christian interpolation or an emendation of something unpalatable that Josephus had actually written about Jesus. The fascination of the problem lies in the fact, which we have noted, that Josephus was eminently well placed for knowing the origins of Christianity; and the value of his testimony as an independent witness would be immense, if it could be recovered." Cited from S.G.F. Brandon (editor), Religion In Ancient History: Studies In Ideas, Men and Events, page 309 (London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1969). ISBN 0-04-2000020-5
88. Steven Bowman, "Jewish Responses to Byzantine Polemics from the Ninth through the Eleventh Centuries" , in Zev Garber (editor), The Jewish Jesus: Revelation, Reflection, Reclamation, pages 185-186 (Purdue University Press, 2011). ISBN 978-1-55753-579-5
89. J. Neville Birdsall, "The Continuing Enigma of Josephus's Testimony about Jesus", pages 609-622, Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library (1984-1985).
90. ^ John Martin Creed "The Slavonic Version of Josephus' History of the Jewish War", The Harvard Theological Review Vol. 25, No. 4, Oct., 1932
91. ^ Josephus' Jewish War and Its Slavonic Version by Flavius Josephus, Henry Leeming, Lyubov V. Osinkina, Katherine Leeming 2003 ISBN 9004114386 pages 1-4
92. >The new complete works of Josephus by Flavius Josephus, William Whiston, Paul L. Maier 1999 ISBN 082542948X page 11
93. ^ Van Voorst, Robert E (2000). Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence Eerdmans Publishing' ISBN 0802843689 pages 87-88
94. Steven B. Bowman "Josephus in Byzantium" in Josephus, Judaism and Christianity by Louis H. Feldman, Gōhei Hata 1997 ISBN 9004085548 pages 373-374
95. The Cambridge History of Judaism, Vol. 3: The Early Roman Period by William Horbury, W. D. Davies and John Sturdy 2000 ISBN 0521243777 page 918
96. Josephus, Judaism and Christianity by Louis H. Feldman, Gōhei Hata 1997 ISBN 9004085548 page 339
97. Studying the Historical Jesus: Evaluations of the State of Current Research by Bruce Chilton and Craig A. Evans 1998 ISBN 9004111425 page 451
98. Solomon Zeitlin, "The Hoax of the 'Slavonic Josephus'", in The Jewish Quarterly Review, pages 172, 177; October 1948, New Series, Vol. 39, No. 2

External links

• "Jewish Light on the Risen Lord", New Oxford Review, by Frederick W. Marks
• "Jesus in the eyes of Josephus" by Geza Vermes.

• Judeo-Christian topics
• Jesus and history
• Perspectives on Jesus
• Early Christianity and Judaism